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Chigoe

Photo by:London Scientific Films/Oxford Scientific Films

Chigoe, common name for a burrowing, biting, tropical American flea. It is sometimes also called jigger, jigger flea, or, improperly, chigger, although a chigger is a mite, a different kind of animal pest. Chigoes are smaller than common fleas but otherwise resemble them. The fertile female burrows under the skin of humans and animals and becomes engorged with blood and eggs, causing a painful and sometimes dangerous pea-sized ulcer to form. Chigoes particularly attack the skin of the feet.

Scientific classification: The chigoe belongs to the family Tungidae, order Siphonaptera. It is classified as Tunga penetrans.